Australia beat North Korea to set up Asian Cup semi-final with China or Taiwan | Football news

Australia beat North Korea 2-1 to set up a Women’s Asian Cup semi against either China or Taiwan and seal a FIFA World Cup spot.

Sam Kerr scored a goal and Australia secured a FIFA World Cup place with a 2-1 win over North Korea as they advanced to the Women’s Asian Cup semi-finals.

The three-time champions North Koreans had nearly two-thirds of the possession on Friday and played at a high tempo to unsettle the Australians, but they were unable to carve out many scoring chances against a stubborn Matildas defence.

The North Koreans had 21 shots on goal and 10 on target but could not capitalize. Australia converted two of their shots on target.

Kerr played an important role in both.

In the ninth minute, the Chelsea forward was tackled deep into the right corner by opposition captain An Kuk Hyang and Alanna Kennedy crossed the area before turning in a deflection with a left-footed shot for her fifth goal.

Kerr made it 2-0 two minutes into the second half with a left-footed shot after a defensive lapse by the North Koreans, giving 2023 World Cup semi-finalists Australia a cushion.

But the North Koreans stepped up their intensity again and cut the gap to 2-1 in the 65th, when Kim Kyong Yong crossed into the box from the left and Chae Un Yong finished from close range.

North Korea unleashed a flurry of shots on the Australian goal but goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold denied them an equaliser.

“It was a good team performance defensively, (North Korea) is a good team and they had a lot of the ball and there was a lot of pressure,” Kerr said. “The crowd was huge today, limiting us.”

A World Cup spot is still up for grabs for North Korea

All four semifinalists in the Women’s Asian Cup automatically qualify for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. The Australians will play the winner between defending champions China and Taiwan in next Saturday’s quarter-finals.

The North Koreans will get another shot at qualifying for the World Cup in next week’s playoffs. The fifth and sixth placed teams in this continental tournament will also qualify for Brazil.

The end of the group stage earlier in the week was overshadowed by Iran’s exit from the tournament and asylum to members of the delegation.

South Korea will take on Uzbekistan at the Australian Stadium in a night match in Sydney on Saturday after China and Taiwan meet in Perth.

With three wins from three matches and a tournament-leading 17 goals without conceding, Japan heads into its quarterfinal match against the Philippines on Sunday.